African American Female Entrepreneur Creates the Heartbeat Music Academy

San Diego, CA — The Heartbeat Music Academy, located in San Diego, California, was founded by entrepreneur and humanitarian, Tyra K. Hawthorne. Ms. Hawthorne, a native of Detroit, Michigan, created the academy out of memory of her childhood and remembrance of how music has helped her overcome childhood tragedies. The programs provided by the academy are designed to promote scholastic achievement and music education. Since the incorporation of the academy, two of her students were provided the opportunity to attend summer music programs at both the Berklee College of Music and Jackson State University.

With a passion for giving back, Ms. Hawthorne selflessly served her country through the United States Marine Corp. During that time, she still made time to serve the youth by volunteering her time to kids in need. After being honorably discharged from the military, Tyra Hawthorne stepped out on faith and founded the Thunder Squad Drumline, a community based music program composed of young percussionists in the underserved community of San Diego. However, she did not stop there and later realized that the need was greater for music programs in the underserved communities of San Diego County. In January 2014, she founded the Heartbeat Music Academy, a non-profit organization.

With programs to include, Music Education, Music Performance, Healing through Music, and Lyrical Expression and Music Production, Ms. Hawthorne’s vision is that the Heartbeat Music Academy will become recognized as an organization to encourage youth to embrace their talent as an integral part of their educational and social advancement.

In an interview with Founder and Conduit of She Who Builds, D.L. Carpenter, she provided the following response to the question, “what motivates you to build the life you imagined for yourself?”

“I am motivated by the youth that I have impacted over the years. To work hard for something that I do not have a passion for, makes me feel like I am going through the motions of living. With music I feel free, and I feel like by giving youth their own creative outlet, it gives music the opportunity to set them free.”

To find out more about the Heartbeat Music Academy and how you can get involved, visit www.heartbeatmusicacademy.org. •